The knight in the big world of American TV series

Chapter 2391

Ok?
This idea... is pretty wild!

Airborne carriers have a lot of drawbacks, but they are not without advantages... namely, their carrying capacity is truly astounding!
The flagship that Nick Fury himself rode in was especially extravagant!

The aircraft carrier serves as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operational command and support center for long-range infiltration and global intervention missions, and also as a temporary mobile base for S.H.I.E.L.D. in emergencies. It is 473.72 meters long, 305.185 meters wide (including wingspan), displaces 10 to 15 tons, and has a maximum service ceiling of 9140 meters. It serves multiple purposes, including as a ship, aircraft carrier, giant transport aircraft, command center, laboratory, intelligence monitoring base, and warehouse. Due to the integration of so many other facilities, it occupies too much hangar space, thus its role as an aircraft carrier is weaker than that of a conventional aircraft carrier. It possesses optical camouflage, achieving visual stealth at a certain distance.

The ship's weaponry and equipment include F-35B S.H.I.E.L.D. modified fighter jets for carrier escort and long-range missile delivery. Quinjet aircraft are primarily used for special operations team infiltration and logistical missions, utilizing two lift fans built into their wings for vertical takeoff and landing/hovering. AV-8B vertical takeoff and landing attack aircraft, Alpha Jet trainer/attack aircraft, AH-1 attack helicopters, VIP helicopters, and rescue airships are all used for showmanship and specific missions. Furthermore, the ship is equipped with pressurized water nuclear reactors or advanced nuclear reactors with significantly improved conversion efficiency, and a two-tiered flight deck, with the aft section of the lower flight deck and part of the space below it used as a hangar.

If used simply as a transport ship, it is absolutely qualified!

Moreover, in terms of armament, air carriers are actually quite powerful.

It is equipped with 300 general-purpose VLS vertical launch systems!

Vertical Launching Systems (VLS) are shipborne missile launchers primarily used for air defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine warfare. Compared to traditional inclined launch systems, which suffer from long reaction times, large deck footprint, and vulnerability to damage, VLS employs a modular structure. The US began developing the system in 1977 and officially deployed the MK41 system in 1986. Each missile bay contains eight launch tubes, which can be flexibly configured below the ship's deck, reducing the reaction time to 4 seconds. It is compatible with various types of missiles, including Standard surface-to-air missiles, ASROC anti-submarine missiles, and Tomahawk cruise missiles. This system is deployed on Ticonderoga-class cruisers, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and the Aegis Ashore missile defense system. The new VLS installed on Virginia-class nuclear submarines can accommodate 12 hypersonic missiles or 28 subsonic Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Because there is enough space, it is also equipped with an automatic loading system!
It's even more of an arsenal ship than an arsenal ship!
The vitality of arsenal ships stems from an extraordinary imagination in developing naval warfare weaponry. After the Cold War, countries generally reduced their military spending, and the precision-strike capabilities of missiles rapidly diminished the practical value of many large, manned surface ships. To resolve the contradiction between limited military spending and maintaining a strong naval military capability, the United States pioneered the concept of 'arsenal ships,' which replace large-caliber guns on battleships and missiles launched from carrier-based aircraft with ship-launched missiles.

According to preliminary plans, the arsenal ship will be at least 244 meters long, with a displacement of over 11900 tons. It will have 500 vertical launch missile cells, capable of carrying various missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, Standard surface-to-air missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and new missiles designed for theater missile defense and shore bombardment. Other weaponry includes two 155mm naval guns with 2400 advanced guided projectiles, an anti-missile system, two shipborne helicopters, one drone, two remotely controlled mine destroyers, two unmanned submarines, a number of torpedoes, communication sonar, communication systems, and combat command systems. The ship will have a double-hull structure with a small superstructure. During combat, the hull will only be 1.5 meters above the waterline to minimize radar reflection. The arsenal ship will be integrated into a carrier battle group, providing air cover and combat information. The ship will require only 20 crew members but will need a supply ship to accompany it for timely reloading of the vertical launch systems. If this type of armored ship is successfully developed and deployed to the armed forces, it will share some of the combat functions of aircraft carriers.

Military strategists have commented that this arsenal ship, possessing many of the functions of an aircraft carrier, will, with its advanced design concepts and superior combat capabilities, reshape naval history since the 70s. It will increase the navy's involvement in and determination of land warfare, showing a strong potential to replace aircraft carriers and revolutionize naval warfare. The U.S. Navy is currently evaluating preliminary concepts for this ship, including design parameters, potential weaponry, and costs.

The technology of the Kuznetsov ship is basically based on existing naval ship technology, but its overall design concept is advanced and its functions are unique. Compared with existing surface ships, it has the following significant advantages.

For example, its firepower is strong... extremely strong!
The arsenal ship will be equipped with 500 missiles of various types, all using the most advanced launch method—vertical launch—a capability unattainable by ordinary ships. Among the various missile types, the Tomahawk cruise missile is the primary weapon. The arsenal ship can launch 500 missiles in minutes, raining them down on enemy tanks, advance troops, and other targets, delivering an exceptionally powerful barrage of firepower.

The ship boasts a high degree of automation, being entirely armed with missiles. It features a mobile storage compartment and can automatically complete the entire process of missile loading, launching, target search, and guidance. The reconnaissance aircraft it is expected to install will also be unmanned. The ship has a crew of only 50, which is unimaginable on other large surface warships.

Most importantly, it's inexpensive… The development cost of the arsenal ship is significantly lower than other new weapons, with the total research funding for four years estimated at only $100 million. The unit price of the arsenal ship is also low, with a prototype costing no more than $550 million, while an aircraft carrier costs as much as $45 billion. An aircraft carrier's annual operating expenses are $440 million, while an arsenal ship only requires tens of millions of dollars.

However, this thing also has its drawbacks. First, the support system is complex. Arsenal ships require a large number of accompanying support ships during operations. Satellites, reconnaissance aircraft, drones, airborne early warning aircraft, or ground search radars provide a huge "operational coordination and control system." The various links in this system are closely linked, and if any link fails, it will reduce the arsenal ship's strike accuracy or even its combat capability.

With weak survivability, arsenal ships, not intended to carry anti-submarine helicopters, have a much lower anti-submarine capability than other large and medium-sized ships. Due to their low hull, the shipborne radar has a short detection range, and they lack the various early warning aircraft and fighter jets found on aircraft carriers, making their air defense capabilities extremely vulnerable. They also lack individual combat capabilities.

Of course, it is not impossible to use it if it is assigned to a large fleet.

Unfortunately, it was ultimately rejected due to internal power struggles within the US military.

Because they want to build something incredibly futuristic—the DDG-1000 "Zumwalt" class destroyer.

Originally intended to partially fulfill the functions of an arsenal ship, the project, as we all know, overreached and went awry. Not only was the cost outrageously high, reaching $46 billion per ship, but despite plans to build 32, only three were completed before the project was abandoned. Even more ridiculous, the ship was designed with two exceptionally advanced naval guns, but the shells were so expensive that even the US military couldn't afford them – the cost of a single shell was enough to buy a luxury car. Ultimately, the guns became mere decorations, a laughingstock. It's like trying to build a Transformer, only to create a tin toy that's just for show.

The shady dealings within the US military-industrial complex are truly fascinating.

The development of equipment for the U.S. military, ostensibly for national security, is often dictated by various interest groups, project managers, and contractors. When bureaucrats and businessmen collude, project decisions become a matter of "you vote for me, I'll sign a contract for you." Even with massive amounts of wasted money, few people are truly held accountable for poorly executed projects in the U.S. military industry.

The Zumwalt project is a typical example.

Billions of dollars were poured in, but the equipment never even reached mass production, and no one stepped forward to apologize, let alone hold anyone accountable. The Zumwalt-class destroyer is a real-life soap opera of the American military industry. The initial vision for this ship was grand: the world's largest destroyer, equipped with 155mm guns, electromagnetic railguns, stealth capabilities, and automation—a technological marvel. But reality slapped them in the face. The electromagnetic railgun failed to materialize, and the guns had to use specially customized shells, each ridiculously expensive, costing at least $80, and the price kept rising. In contrast, China's Type 055 destroyer has more vertical launch systems than the Zumwalt, equipped with guns, torpedoes, and lasers—capable of handling multiple types of warfare. Most importantly, the Type 055 costs only one-fifth of the Zumwalt. The US's efforts resulted in the Zumwalt's guns being completely removed, turning it into an "arsenal ship" with weakened defensive capabilities, requiring escort frigates for protection. Ironically, despite spending more money than anyone else, its combat effectiveness was significantly reduced. In fact, upon closer examination, the Zumwalt-class frigate farce is not an isolated phenomenon. Since the advent of the F-22 stealth fighter, the US military industry seems to have suddenly "gone stagnation" in its innovation and technology integration capabilities. While the F-35 has been heavily hyped, project delays, exorbitant costs, and frequent malfunctions have made it a typical example of high investment and low output in the US military industry. Many practitioners and experts in the US military industry have admitted that the US research and development system is no longer as efficient and reliable as it once was.

Far away.

It's surprising that the arsenal ship, which the US military couldn't handle, was dealt with by S.H.I.E.L.D. in this way.

In addition, the airborne carrier also possesses close-in weapon systems (CIWS).

24座MK-15密集阵1C近防武器（25MM），18座‘欧瑞康千禧年’近防武器系统（25MM)。

The MK15 close-in weapon system is equipped with a 6-barrel 20mm automatic cannon, integrating search radar, tracking radar, and a computer control system. It can detect targets as small as 0.1 square meters within 5000 meters, achieving fully automatic search, tracking, and attack capabilities. Its rate of fire reaches 75 rounds per second, using depleted uranium-core armor-piercing projectiles. Entering service in the early 1980s, this system primarily equips large warships. It includes a warning radar, tracking radar, cannon, electronic computer, and control panel. The two radars work together to pinpoint the location of targets with a radar cross-section of 0.1 square meters within 5000 meters, calculate their motion parameters, and simultaneously monitor the trajectory of friendly fire, automatically correcting firing parameters. The system operates normally in sea state 5 and can be controlled via the system's control console or remotely, requiring no gunner. The projectile consists of a body, a core, and an ejector. The core, the destructive component, is made of depleted uranium, with a density 2.5 times that of steel.

The Oerlikon Millennium, first deployed in the late 1990s, primarily provides air defense for naval vessels. It is based on the Oerlikon 35mm automatic cannon system and incorporates the latest electronic and mechanical technologies. The system is designed to provide a flexible and effective means of defense against increasingly complex aerial threats. The Millennium cannon uses the 35mm GDF twin-barreled gun, which strikes a balance between accuracy and rate of fire, enabling it to fire a large number of rounds in a short time. The Millennium cannon uses AHEAD ammunition, specifically designed for effectively engaging aerial targets. AHEAD ammunition detonates a certain distance from the target, releasing a large amount of tungsten alloy fragments, forming a lethal metal curtain and increasing the probability of a hit. This design is particularly effective against small, high-speed targets, such as anti-ship missiles. In addition to AHEAD ammunition, the Millennium cannon can use other types of 35mm ammunition, giving it greater flexibility in different operational environments. The system's versatility allows it to effectively engage not only aerial targets but also sea and land targets. The Millennium cannon's fire control system is also one of its core strengths. This system integrates advanced radar, electro-optical sensors, and a fire control computer, enabling it to track multiple targets in real time and automatically select priority targets for engagement. The system can also coordinate with other air defense systems on board the ship to form a comprehensive defense system.

By transport ship standards, SHIELD's airship Martial is simply overpowered!
The key point is that the airborne carrier is capable of both air and sea use!
This is absolutely useless for a ship or weapon!
Because it's useless!
But as a means of transportation... this thing is simply a game-changer!

First, there's the issue of cost.

It's important to know that the space on an airborne carrier is enormous. Originally, the airborne carrier's carrying capacity was intended for transporting aircraft, armored vehicles, and tanks!
In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s original design standards, the hangar of the airship could hold 340 aircraft!
Isn't this a bit exaggerated?
It's worth noting that the US Navy's newest and largest Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have a maximum of just over 100 carrier-based aircraft.

Meanwhile, the lower deck also houses a heavy equipment depot, which can carry 86 main battle tanks, 100 amphibious assault vehicles, and 200 light vehicles of various types (including tactical vehicles and various military vehicles).

Some people say, is this really the kind of data an aircraft carrier should have?
There's no way around it; the airborne carrier has too many advanced technologies, the most impressive of which is the anti-gravity system... which is why its carrying capacity is so exaggerated.

As a weapon, it's too flashy, but as a means of transportation, it's awesome!
The US government could easily dismantle some of the junk and replace it with a transport warehouse.

To take it to an extreme, they might even dismantle the missile launch system.

As for defense... haha, what the hell is there to defend against? Go ahead and shoot it down if you dare!

The US could fight you to the death any minute now. Don't forget, the US is a nuclear power!

It has the most nuclear weapons in the world!
If we don't want the Americans to risk their lives, we must all exercise restraint.

So, you have to admit, S.H.I.E.L.D. did a good thing!
The key point is that the airship assembly workshop under the old S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters is still there!

There are still many parts and unfinished airships inside, and even quite a few skilled workers!
Although the supply chain is ruined, at least we can still assemble a few more aircraft.

This will increase the scale!